THE MYSTIQUE
Enwrapped in a distinguished shade of black, the impeccable oilskin cover protects against the damaging elements. Writing is a breeze outdoors—sturdy and tough, the water-resistant cover doubles up as a portable desk. Its round edges resist well-worn dog ears and ease a smooth transfer to and from pockets.

It looks heavy, but the only weight it carries is the vast imagination, introspective ideas and evocative memories of its owner. A pocket made of high quality cardboard and oilcloth holds tickets, notes and clippings. Reinforced at cross areas, the strong and durable pockets opens at approximately 20° for easy access. Yet, the opening of the pocket faces inwards to safeguard loose papers.

Thread-bound like a book lends it muscle to flex open the notebook totally flat, which proves very useful for scanning.

A modern look exudes an understated style evokes a mood that is always encouraging for the creative process—this actually stems from its faith to a 200-year-old design ethos. The classic mauve bookmark and the buttermilk color of the acid-free paper make writing an eye-pleasing experience. Enclosing the notebook is an elastic band dedicated to avert wrinkled pages or detachments.

A single name is embossed at the back: Moleskine. The notebook born to live in your pocket.


THE LEGEND
It is difficult to resist a handsome confidante, especially one with a ready ear.

The enigmatic notebook’s tenacity is akin to the brand’s resilience—after 200 years, Moleskine is still the beloved notebook of artists, intellectuals and travelers, who have been widely attributed for the brand’s cult status.

Free of frills, the little black books are devoid of elaborate artwork and loud logos. Then again, people don’t need these to take random notes. Moleskine accommodates this need with the pure pleasure of a writing experience in an empty layout with various page styles and most essentially, good quality paper. Unlike its dictatorial peers, Moleskine liberates writing from specific constraints. People explore and experiment and eventually, they discover their favorite ways of using a Moleskine. Always a perfect fit, its smooth integration for multiple purposes and diverse lifestyles has evolved the brand beyond mere stationery. A special line dedicated to the artist was released under Moleskine’s Museum collection. The notebooks, inspired by Van Gogh’s chromatisms, come in six brilliant colors in shantung silk.

Its association with the creative professions and people on the move has made it the symbol of contemporary nomadism it is today. Moleskine identifies with the struggles people of such passionate endeavors have to go through—it has a story of survival of its own

Legend has it that the Moleskine has been the preferred canvas of choice for artists and writers in Europe. Vincent van Gogh sketched the famous Sunflowers on a Moleskine. In fact, seven of his Moleskines dating back from 1881 to 1890 are now on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Moleskine was a regular source of inspiration for Henri Matisse, one of the first Fauvist painters, who sketched his ideas for large-scale paintings on the notebook.

Prolific Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, a frontrunner of the Cubism movement, drew regularly on notebooks that inspired the Moleskine Cahiers.

An inspiration to generations today, influential American novelist Ernest Hemingway is said to have authored The Sun Also Rises on his Moleskine in Parisian cafes.

Travel writer Bruce Chatwin is known to stock up on Moleskines before setting off on his journeys, and has established a ritual over the years. Before he used the pocket journals, he would number the pages and write his name and his latest address with the promise of a reward in case he lost them. “Losing my passport was the least of my worries, losing a notebook was a catastrophe,” he said.

Chilean writer-film director-journalist-political activist Luis Sepúlveda expressed his love for Moleskine in his book Full Circle.

Originally produced by small-time French bookbinders, these trusty pocket-size travel companions were supplied to the Parisian stationery shops frequented by the international avant-garde. However, the notebooks were no longer available by the end of the 20th century: In 1986, the last manufacturer of Moleskine, a family-run operation in Tours, closed its shutter forever due to economic pressures.

“Le vrai Moleskine n’est plus”. These were the lapidary words of the stationer in Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie where Chatwin stocked up on the journals. Before he left for Australia, the English writer ordered a hundred of Moleskines and bought all that he could find. Still they weren’t enough.

The time of dearth actually presented a turning point for the brand, skyrocketing its value of an exclusive, highly coveted item, forcing aficionados of the Moleskine to hoard their notebooks. Sepùlveda was lucky to have a friend in Chatwin, who shared his stash.

In 1998, a small Milanese publisher Modo & Modo revived Moleskine, the unassuming, discreet keeper of an extraordinary tradition, the reservoir of ideas and feelings and the battery that stores discoveries and perceptions, and whose energy can be tapped over time.

Once again, the legendary black notebook is passed from one pocket to the next to document the continuing adventures of innovative individuals everywhere. The journey of Moleskine continues; its still-blank pages will tell the rest of the story.


THE CANVAS
Today, the brand’s links with the creative community grows from strength to strength. Notebooks belonging to more than 150 prominent international artists—spanning diverse creative disciplines from literary to art, from design to music—have starred in the many exhibitions helmed by Moleskine.

Exhibitions have been an integral communication vehicle for the brand. Eye-opening insights into the creative process offer an intimate look into the inner workings of expressive minds. The displays reinforce Moleskine’s alignment with the creative community. The subliminal illustrations extol virtues of the lifestyle brand, “selling” the coveted dream that Moleskine has the ability to ignite inspiration in anybody, triggering wonderful works of art rich with carefree creativity.

This suggestion of fruitful spontaneity is another facet of the brand’s versatility. Yet, it doesn’t run counter to a notebook’s basic purpose of functions, which is more related to planning and organization. Like an abstract painting, it seems to symbolize the notion that the true beauty of ideas materializes in the conception.

In partnership with specialist art and design bookstore Page One, Moleskine Asia spearheaded the artistic initiative “My Favorite Moleskine” in early 2007 to showcase the highly imaginative works of young upcoming artists, most of whom have never exhibited their work in Hong Kong.


Click on the thumbnails to view the exhibition “My Favorite Moleskine” in Singapore in detail.

Just as diamonds in the rough need a spot of polishing before they can shine their brilliance, raw talents should tap into the creative genius of established artists. Moleskine Asia extended an invitation to esteemed art practitioners to mentor a promising creative of their choice.

Exceptional Moleskine entries could earn more exposure if the artwork gets a good number of thumbs-up from the growing Moleskine community of users. Nominated selections are posted on Moleskinasia.com and Moleskine Asia upped the exposure quotient by arranging for media interviews


Click on the thumbnails to view the attention the exhibition garnered in detail.

Selected participants brought a burst of creative energy and enthusiasm far beyond Asia. “My Favorite Moleskine” featured more than 40 artists from places as far as Paris, London, Los Angeles, New York, Manhattan, apart from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo, paying tribute to their canvas of choice.

For the exhibition, Moleskine Asia designed an unusual tactile installation. The audience is invited to flip through the artists’ notebooks that are displayed in Perspex boxes. Plastic gloves are provided to protect the artworks while allowing onlookers to get up close and personal with the process of creation through the exploration of the notebooks’ contents immersing themselves in a total Moleskine experience.


Click on the thumbnails to view the tactile installation in detail.

After a successful run in Singapore, “My Favorite Moleskine” moved to Hong Kong. This time, Moleskine Asia held the exhibition in more venues: Interactive lifestyle store LOG-ON at Festival Walk and mega lifestyle specialty store city’super with its outlets in Times Square, New Town Plaza and Harbour City.


Click on the thumbnails to view “My Favorite Moleskine” exhibition at the Hong Kong stop in detail.


THE GLOBETROTTER
In its catalogue of notebooks, diaries and cahiers, the Moleskine City Notebooks is fast gaining prominence for the symbol of nomadism. So far, the palm-sized travel guidebooks are available for 22 cities and counting. The list includes Amsterdam, Barcelona, Chicago, Dublin, Madrid, Prague, Rome, Seattle and Venice.


Click on the thumbnails to view Moleskine City Notebooks in detail.

Moleskine gives users the freedom to create their personal city maps and travel journals, where they can collect and keep everything—places, contact details, photos, and stories—they need on their next visit. It is a notebook that never ends; users can make constant revisions and include the latest updates, shaping their journeys endlessly. Through the Moleskine City Notebooks, they can reminisce about their once-in-a-lifetime experiences and those special moments that made their journey unforgettable.

Each 228-page thread-bound notebook has useful individually colored accordion pockets and a Key Map that summarizes the overall layout of the city. It has up to 36 pages of zone maps, ranging in scale from 1:5,000 to 1:17,000 with large-scale maps of the city center. It includes a map of the metro system and a list of stations, as well as an alphabetical street index. Users can trace their route with the 12 translucent sticky sheets that they can easily overlay and re-position.


Click on the thumbnails to view Moleskine City Notebooks in greater detail.

Up to 76 blank pages give users all the space they need to write, jot down useful information and record their thoughts, stories and memories. Each City Notebook has a personal 96-page archive with 12 tabs so that things that matter are at the fingertips. Only the first six tabs are printed. The others are blank so users can personalize them with the enclosed adhesive labels. In additional, there are 32 removable sheets for loose notes and message exchange.

An elastic closure contains the individual’s personal definition of a city snugly inside a single notebook.


THE COMMUNITY
Moleskine City Notebooks received such a huge response, it set off Moleskinecity blogs and Detour exhibitions.

Calling itself “a new meeting place” for enthusiasts of the self-written guide, Moleskinecity presents blogs dedicated to the cities, its travelers, residents and people who are independent and free-thinking. Each city blog features updates, curiosities, experiences and links to other blogs and communities.

Open to free participation, Moleskinecity invites people to join in the conversation, share personal points of view, exchange information and discover their urban paths, interests and itineraries.

On the other hand, Detour takes Moleskine City Notebooks on the road. Detour: The Moleskine City Notebook Experience is an exhibition featuring 70 Moleskines by international artists, designers, architects, illustrators and writers. Some of the names that graced the Moleskines were fashion illustrator Jason Brooks, pioneer of designer toys James Jarvis, Berlin-based artist Brigit Brenner, novelist-screenwriter JJ Connelly, Sydney-based art director Chris J. Dent, printmaker Paul Dewis, photographer-sculptor Marianne Fountain and poet-writer Annie Freud.

A Moleskine project supporting lettera27, a non-profit foundation that encourages the right to literacy, education and access to knowledge and information, the exhibition kicked off in Central London in 2006. It took place at four separate venues—Conran, Waterstones, Stanfords and Artwords—weaving a path through central London.

Creative works were shown alongside new images and viewpoints of London. Seen through the eyes of international creative practitioners, London appears to be a city full of dreams, realities—and mysteries.

Some of the notebooks were personal. Film director-writer-composer Mike Figgis filled his Moleskine with scraps of people, old photos, cuts taken from his films, Xeroxed copies of personal I.D. and even a critical, dismissive letter about the quality of his work.

Accompanying the well-connected notebooks is a video loop at each exhibition venue—all notebooks can be viewed at a single location.

In 2007, Detour made its way to New York. Again, 70 notebooks were given invited creative professionals. On display at Art Directors Club were Moleskine City Notebooks by notable creative professionals spanning an intersection of disciplines such as architect Michael Graves, film director Spike Jonze, product designer Karin Rashid, fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, illustrator Ruben Toledo, industrial designer Yves Béhar and communication designer Paula Scher.

Moleskine City Notebooks were also making headway in Asia. Moleskineasia celebrated the launch of the notebooks with partner Air France in the “Invitation Au Voyage” exhibition, preceded by a competition that clearly struck a chord with Asia’s community of travelers. It was swamped with more than 100 notebooks from Japan, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The most unexpected submission came from Inner Mongolia.


Click on the thumbnails to view artworks submitted for the “Invitation Au Voyage” exhibition in detail

An intrepid jury was assembled to pick the crème de la crème amongst these amazing travel notebooks. 23-year-old Hong Kong graphic designer Philip Wan emerged winner with the idea that traveling is like a battery charger—bringing to mind the notion of Moleskine being a battery.


Click on the thumbnails to view part of the jury, the winner and the “Invitation Au Voyage” exhibition in detail.


THE AFFILIATE
In 2007, Moleskine|stories was launched, a website that collects and presents limited print runs and customized editions of Moleskine merchandise that produced in partnership with companies, institutions and various social, cultural and entrepreneurial initiatives in publishing, art, entertainment, travel, literature, photography, film and poetry.



Moleskine acquaints the needs of their partners with the communication potential of Moleskine and its brand values. As a versatile medium whose extensive assortment of products provides a platform for a wide array of communication contexts, the brand work with groups who care deeply about quality collaboration among individuals and about sharing content and ideas.

From the individual to a corporation, Moleskine’s collaborative nature continues to grow the brand. As it unearths hidden talents, it spawns an explosion of blogs and websites in honor of the travel-centric journal, catapulting it to its urban cool status. Making a statement without saying a word.

So it seems that while abundant notebooks abound, there is none quite like the Moleskine. Is there something about Moleskine, or is it much ado about a notebook? Does it even matter?

Well, you decide.


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